T-Mobile USA reported their third quarter 2011 financial results this morning with an additional 126,000 customers jumping on board thanks to T-Mobile’s Value Plans and Monthly4G prepaid growth. The third quarter growth was compared to a net customer loss in the second quarter of 2011 with a reduction in 50,000 customers. T-Mobile’s total customer base is now 33.7 million customers compared to 33.6 at the end of last quarter and 33.8 million compared to the third quarter of 2010.

T-Mobile warned that it could see a rise in churn as contract customers leave for iPhone-carrying competitors:

“Earnings improved as we continued to focus on making smartphones affordable to all Americans through our unlimited Value plans, improvements to our 4G network, and an expanding portfolio of 4G devices,” said Philipp Humm, President and CEO of T-Mobile USA. “Attractive prepaid offerings helped us add customers in the third quarter of 2011 and data ARPU grew as smartphone adoption continued to increase. Discipline on the cost side contributed to year-on-year margin improvement, while postpay churn, in particular related to the iPhone 4S launches by competitors, will continue to be an area of concern.”

T-Mobile’s earnings improved 1 percent to $4.67 billion from the 2nd quarter of 2011 but down from $4.71 billion from the third quarter of 2010. T-Mobile’s contract net customers losses were 186,000 in the third quarter against 281,000 in the second quarter of 2011. Prepaid net customer additions were 312,000 in the third quarter of 2011, an improvement from 231,000 net prepaid customer additions during the second quarter of 2011.

About David Beren

David is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TmoNews.com. He considers himself a Jedi Knight, capable of leaping tall buildings in a single bound and a connoisseur of fine cell phones. He has been involved in the wireless industry since 2003 and has been known to swap out phones far too many times in any given year. Should you wish to contact him, you can do so: david@tmonews.com.

Just fucking release the Galaxy Nexus, market it better than Google (who are supposed to be ad geniuses, but don’t know how to fucking run a traditional media ad campaign for their flagship phones), and you’ll gain some customers. In the meantime, why not get the iPhone?

http://chreestoph.tumblr.com Chris

Yeah, how do you market a device that isn’t even out yet. The last Nexus device was the Nexus S that came out early in the year, and Google had a pretty decent marketing campaign for that device. Also, I don’t think you understand the purpose of these Nexus devices. They aren’t supposed to be mass marketed phones, they’re mainly dev devices that regular consumers can get.

Anonymous

You’re wrong buddy, the original Nexus was more of a dev device, with each Nexus launch the device becomes more of a mainstream device. Google has done a horrible job building anticipation for and marketing their phones. I dont know if the onus can totally be placed on Google since you could also point the finger at the OEM, but they barely ran spots for the Nexus S, and the Galaxy Nexus is supposed to change the game for Android. Verizon ran a ton off teaser adds when they first launched Android with their Droid Does campaign. Google could do the same, they just dont.

EDIT: True to form as I posted my comment at the bottom of the page was an Ad for the Galaxy Nexus. Problem with this is that they are advertising to the sold already. Most people on these tech blogs already know about the Galaxy Nexus and are already chomping at the bits for one. It’s the average/normal consumer that isnt aware of this device and will at their (Google and the Customer) loss never be wiser to it.

Littlesis1774

I agree with the comments about AT&T stopping iphone. I mean seriously if a company C-spire which is a company that most have not heard get it then something is up

Tito

See? T-Mobile rocks even WITHOUT the iPhone… customers know they can jailbreak their phones and use our service… and that’s what some already doing… #1 in the business…

JesusC

Yeah but when need to hope they don’t get tired of using 2g =/

Thjih

No need no stinking iPhone!

Anonymous

I expected a downward spiral for last quarter. Looks like the ATT deal isn’t playing THAT much of a factor so far.

Foxeh

I suspect the presence of that DoJ suit is helping. It comes up among other customers every time I stop by a T-Mobile store.

Dcame01

T-Mobile customer service is getting real bad they use to work with you now they trying to at like the other phone company

http://chreestoph.tumblr.com Chris

If Tmo warns of customers leaving for the iPhone, why not carry the iPhone? I don’t understand their logic.

Anonymous

Because Apple’s demands were too stringent and unreasonable for Tmo, most likely Apple demanded too much money from the sales of the phones for it to make sense for Tmo to carry it. (that according to a statement from Tmo executives a few weeks ago).

Anonymous

Not to be sarcastic but i don’t think they could afford the iPhone in their current position. Apple doesn’t make these cheap for carriers, look at sprint for example. If T-Mobile was more profitable and wasn’t bleeding out money and customers like it has in the past than id say it would be worth it. However, i think even they realize that with the potential merger and their many other problems that iPhone probably wouldn’t be enough to save them from their own bad business decisions from 2006 and on.

Crybabies

T-Mobile is profitable. The problem is they are sending that profit to Germany. T-Mo is more profitable than Sprint! But if you dont want to reinvest your money back into the company than this is what you get. They just want to sell the company off and be done with T-Mobile. As far as bad decisions, they were first to offer google phone, MMS messaging and a bunch of other features. Get your facts straight.

Anonymous

That has always been a major problem for T-Mobile and it is has been seriously masked by their 4G. Where I live I am lucky enough to have 4G, I use it for a pre-paid hotspot for my MacBook Air on the go and when Traveling. I don’t need it every month and it is nice to add service when I need it. However, before rolling out 4G they never used the money to invest in 3G here, get 1-2 bars of 3G in a few places but roll back to edge in most places. T-Mobile has always been a mess and I hate because I always liked T-Mobile. I am right outside NYC, in one of the richest counties. Sprint is slightly better, but Verizon is king of this area and AT&T is second.

TD botched up the 3G roll out so bad, I would love to see T-Mobile sold but not to AT&T I want a second GSM option but owned by someone that is going to take the time and invest in what needs to be done.

Anonymous

Get my facts straight? How about you think this through for a second?? or potentially understand modern business practices.

How many past quarters has T-Mobile tanked? seriously?? If they were profitable, DT would continue to invest and not ever consider selling them to a profitable company that has the resources to acquire T-Mobile USA. Think about it?? Even with business accounts, they aren’t as profitable or widespread as VZW or AT&T.

T-Mobile has been the under dog for a while, and unfortunately you have to realize that it’s indeed for a real reason. Bad management, investments and business decisions have hurt T-mobile greatly. I’m assuming that your business sense runs parallel with T-Mobiles, which would justify your magenta “cultish” response. Please don’t ever run a business!!So what if T-Mobile implemented all that stuff first?? they clearly aren’t dominating the market, Android flourished on VZW and become popular there….. not T-Mobile. Its not about who does it first, its about who does it the best! but i guess you don’t understand this.

No offense, but before you tell someone to get their facts straight, you must first have a clue.

Anonymous

That sucks, the other 3 carriers seem to be doing better. I kinda feel bad for T-Mo but at the same time their poor business decisions got them in this position. It seems to me that they are just treading water at this point.

ogopogo

Look what happened to Cell South (C-Spire) – They were getting ready to carry the iPhone, but, according to their CEO: “Apple’s terms were unacceptable from a risk and profitability standpoint.”

T-Mobile knows that they NEED the iPhone, unfortunately, Apple sets the terms. Sprint’s decision to carry the iPhone may be their ultimate downfall, as they now have no money for their LTE buildout.

Financially, T-Mobile is currently in better shape than Sprint. Wouldn’t it be ironic if in a few years, T-Mobile turns around and buys out Sprint!

Anonymous

You are confusing C-Spire with U.S. Cellular. U.S. Cellular claims they refused the iPhone because of the terms, C-Spire is advertising the iPhone as launching 11.11.11.

ogopogo

You are correct!

Littlesis1774

Well Sprint iphone 4s set record sales for them. T-mobile have gotten the iphone before verizon wireless did.

Giraffe

Twice the sales when you’re getting a fifth of the profit of selling another device doesn’t make up for it on the bottom line. Apple wins, not Sprint.

Shaithis01

Love the spin, they gained 126,000 customers but in the same quarter lost 186,000 contract customers. Not really what I’d call a gain.

Hark

Read it again, they gained customers

Doranfarm

Don’t think ALL those losses are related to your iphone lessness! Some of them are due to ur proposed deal with AT&T! Lots of smart phones can be customized to do LOTS of neat things. There are plenty of people who don’t want to belong to the iphone craze!

T-Mo Fighter

I agree. Quite a few jumped ship once the sale was announced. T Mo has never had the iphone and never planned on getting it so it was at&t that proposed the real problem. But of course they don’t to admit that since DT still wants the sale to go through.

Anonymous

when i first read the numbers, they confused me. So what they are really saying is that we lost 60,000 customers last quarter. You wanna know why? Advertising. Tmo sucks at it soooo baddddd. People would come to Tmo if they knew what we actually offered!! and for the last time, TMO DOESNT HAVE THE IPHONE BECAUSE OF APPLE!!!!!!!!!!! Tmo’s ban chip makes the iphone thicker, so Tmo and apple have to work together to make to fix that problem. The Galaxy Nexus isnt out yet because google has screwed up the release date.

Hark

No, they gained customers overall when you count prepaid

Anonymous

thanks for cleaning it up for me. It worded so strangely. A positive gain is better than nothing.

Anonymous

Wait so your saying that because the iPhone might be a millimeter thick, Apple chose(continues to choose) not to make a version of the device that is slightly adjusted? I think its deeper than that. Especially considering the fact that VZW’s iPhone is not exactly the same as ATT’s version.

Realcool2000

Pimpweak. Kinda like pipsqeak.

Deeg

They don’t advertise their plans at all. Their own reps have trouble explaining them. Few months ago they had a ‘value sale’ and didn’t even inform their current customers; I saw a TV commercial at 10pm after the sale ended. And t hey are going all out on advertising prepaid but customers feel its a bait and switch when you advertising unlimited monthly 4g for $50 and you are only getting 100 mb of 4g data and then you go straight to dial up speeds, which makes it less attractive than the other prepaid, no contract providers. Tmo doesnt even seem to advertise postpaid anymore except for the 49.99 2 line deals. If they’d offer me that a single customer, I might not be eyeing a switch

Whylee77

Nahhh Not viable competition!!!!

http://twitter.com/catire98 Luis Carlos Diaz

Windows Phone may be a great alternative for T-Mobile…

Anonymous

wow, that’s great news for T-mobile. If they can continue to turn around the contract customers, then all may not be lost for T-mobile USA.

What’s even more impressive is that they did it even with the pending AT&T sale. I would have thought customer defections to AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint would have continued to erode T-mobile during all the confusion. Heck, it might even prove that T-mobile USA doesn’t even need the iphone to gain customers.

Nice to see there might be a way to keep growing even without AT&T. Now if they’d only dump that growth into better coverage.

Lu

T-Mobile is profitable. The problem is they are sending that profit to Germany. T-Mo is more profitable than Sprint! But if you dont want to reinvest your money back into the company than this is what you get. << very very true….T-Mobile has done a great job though in advertising lately(at least here in NYC)…numbers are up all across the board, until last month hit…the last 2 weeks of October were horrible for T-Mobile, I've been to a few meetings and can say that not having an iPhone is a killer…our customer service has gone downhill and we've had many customers stay with us because of our customer service, but what's the point now if there locked into situations where T-Mobile won't do anything for them…I really thought we were gonna do great with the S2 and Amaze, the S2 has sold really well, but it's nothing compared to the amount of customers we've lost due to the 4S. November has started off very very slow as well for the company. Of course it'll eventually pick up again, but 4th quarter results will be tough on T-Mobile.

Phershey128

You are an employee of tmobile and you are talking about customer service? You know we do follow policy very strictly. Just because we don’t give away the farm when a customer asks for credits don’t make us bad. Keep in mind we work for the same company. You shouldn’t tell customers to call us when you know something can’t be done.

21stNow

I don’t know exactly what Lu meant, but all of the customer service complaints are not about the actual CSRs as people. Some of the complaints are from T-Mobile’s lack of attention-getting notification of the due date change back in September, the stricter application of reconnect fees and the new “feature” of pay per use Web being activated on some accounts. These are more policy related complaints rather than complaints about CSRs.

Add in the fact that we have had unusually bad weather from August until now that caused some service outages, many customers have become disenchanted with T-Mobile recently. I’m not one of the customers who is complaining about this. I understand that earthquakes, hurricanes and snowstorms are not friendly to cellular networks. From reading T-Mobile’s forums, however, everyone is not so understanding or forgiving.

Lu

hey guys, I wasn’t referring to the reps…I was referring to things like bill payments being changed, the $1.99 mobile feature added to peoples accounts, etc…the main issue with CS is the prepaid/number transfer/flexpay departments… activations at times as well…the reps in stores are great and informative, it just sucks when someone through care over the phone tells a customer 1 thing and they go into a store and a rep can’t honor what they heard because it’s either not true or just something we may not be able to do in a store.

Giraffe

Truth of any business – You will always believe that everyone in your field or department is more thoughtful, caring, and considerate than those in any other department. Remember that this is almost never true.

Jj15951

How about the fact that recently when I call customer service it takes a minimum of 10-15 minutes on hold to get someone? What happened to immediate pickups by happy smiling people?

Deeg

OR live chat that doesnt seem to work half the time? Or reps who promise you one thing and then never follow through? Or reps who say they’re in Executive Customer Relations/Office of the President and don’t return a call or email after they ASKED you to contact them. Or prepaid reps who misinform you over and over to embarrassing lengths and won’t even tell you what country they’re in – even though its obvious they’re not in the US…could go on and on…. Id like to speak to the VP, Customer Service and let him know what its like from a customer’s standpoint. Live chat’s favorite answer is “I cannot answer that.” or “Im sorry…I apologize” _ Stop apologizing and find a solution!

Deeg

Im sorry your customer service from the entry level rep to the ECR staff and Ill name names have really gone down hill. It used to be the one thing people though of when you said Tmobile. As a long time customer, Ive been really disappointed. You also can no longer email; live chat is a joke and often not available, and prepaid is outsourced and those reps don’t even know the details of what they’re trying to sell. They have made so many errors in what they told me that I had to email Philip Humm in my disbelief. Then live chat, all the reps can say to you is “I’m sorry but I cannot answer.’ Or they tell me my phone can’t do xyz when it can – or t hey give me wrong information about plans and then once I sign up I find out that isn’t the case. Tmo employees should monitor the forums on your website you’ll see a pattern of complaints. If you’re not competitive on quality or price or service, then what? People will go for cheaper prepaid on the budget end (where at least they get 3G unlimited and to dialup speeds (don’t call it monthly 4G if you are limited to dial up speed after 100mb on your main plan) , or go for higher speed LTE networks, or will go for unlimited data with no throttling on Sprint. Ive been rooting for Tmo – for some reason , I feel some loyalty to the company since I ve used them for the entire time Ive had a cell phone but they’ve let me down – over and over. Also in the last year have had many incidents where reps promise me one thing, and then mysteriously its not written down in my record and not followed through…Then when you have to deal with someone who claims to be from the “Office of the President” and asks you to call them…I call 3 days in a row and never get a response. Ive worked in these areas before so to see such poor customer relations really disappoints and angers me. Honestly, I don’t know a single other person who is on Tmobile…and when I talk to friends or family about cell phone , not a single person mentions Tmo. (and in regards to the iPhone, it is an issue…allthe apple haters can have their say but a lot of people like and want iPhones…and with features like FaceTime and iMessage that work with other iPhones, its becoming more and more of its own ecosystem)

Realcool2000

Ill name names hahhahhahhaha…..the best line yet…

Anonymous

If he’s so worried about losing customers because of his lack of the iPhone, I think it would make more sense to bring some higher end phones to the lineup. Verizon just got the HTC Rezound with Beatz Audio and AT&T got the HTC Vivid and another variant of the Samsung Galaxy S II. I don’t think the MyTouch by LG and the LG Double play are enough to get the job done. Just a suggestion

Deon Davis

T-mo does have high end phones, the htc amaze and the GS2, the mytouch by lg are midrange phones.

Chatter

Higher end phones are not the problem. For most people – the network is the main issue. “TMobile has crappy service” is the one you hear a lot – rightly or wrongly. Any knowledgeable person can look at the lineup and say that we have high end phones. The problem is with the average person who listens to “word on the street”.

Vim

The Amaze 4G carried by T-Mobile is superior to the Vivid carried by AT&T. T-Mobile also already has a variant of the Galaxy S II. So T-Mobile’s android phone selection continues to be at least as good as AT&T’s. The real issue is Verizon which for the moment appears to have cornered both of the announced phones with new 720p displays , the Galaxy Nexus and the Rezound. I’m hoping T-Mobile gets a 720p phone soon, but Verizon has both the cash and the customer base to demand exclusives in return for very large orders plus significant marketing exposure for the manufacturers.

Enoel69

kudos to Tmobile despite all the attempt by some to make it look like they are down and out. We will take the modest increase in revenue, increase in prepaid customers and also trying to hold steady on the bleeding of customers who go to other carriers in search of the iPhone. The dark cloud hanging over Tmo bcz of the buy out attempt by Att also needs to go away to keep Magenta moving fwd. The FCC and DOJ needs to put an end to the anti competitive buy out deal so that Tmo can refocus on trying to retain and capture more customers with their low cellular price plans..something that is a threat to those trying to knock them off as a competitor. They also need this cloud lifted so as to start figuring their own path to LTE…either going it alone or through some kind of partnership…but for now their HSPA+ 21/42Mbps is plenty fast. We know there are those customers on Tmo who will like to use the iPhone but we can’t really fault Tmo if the terms or price to do so was just too much for a Network trying to navigate thru tough times. On the other hand there are millions of Android and Nexus owners on Magenta so they should do what ever it takes considering tradition and past relationship with Google to bring the GALAXY NEXUS to Tmobile ASAP..by that i mean during this holiday season. That will definitely boost sales/morale and act as a magnet to draw other Android lovers from the other carriers who will get Tmo low rates, the G-Nex and Tmo HSPA+ 21Mbps speeds…which even though not LTE provides incredible speeds.

TMoFan

Really not as bad as I thought. It seems T-Mobile is trying really hard to reserve their downward spiral. It’s just too bad that they are doing this while there is this cloud of uncertainly surrounding T-Mobile’s future. If DT could just realize that they would benefit in the long run and continue to invest it could really turn T-Mobile around for the better. It’s funny reading some comments here and even on Engadget that T-Mobile is a failure. T-Mobile is in a tough time but they are not a failure. They just suffer from a failure of leadership.

Apple and T-Mobile need to get together and work something out too. How C-Spire, which is not a national carrier, got the iPhone is beyond me. Nokia has been building pentaband phones for years so there’s no excuse for Apple not to do the same. I’m not an iPhone fanboy but the lack of one on T-Mobile’s 4G network is an embarrassment.

BigMixxx

I agree, high level of optimism here. The bleeding has almost stopped and there should be a significant focus on marketing and growth through ‘public conversations’.

Anonymous

Has the bleeding really stopped? We are about to hit the holiday season and Android has fantastic phones and tablets now but they don’t mean the same thing to the general population as Apples I-product line. It is going to continue to hurt TMO and with so many Android products there is fragmentation in the experience because of varying hardware, not the OS like they said wouldn’t happen.

Look at the product lines among the carriers and online for those not sold through the big 4. Different cpu’s, screens, and over all experiences that it is starting to become a headache trying to decide what to buy. At least with Apple you know what your buying.

I’ve never owned an apple product but have played with them. They are fun devices and I’m really satisfied with my phone and will probably get an Android tablet very soon. It’s just going to be a thorn in their side still as kids, teens, and even adults want the fad, easy to use, all white trade mark Apple I-products.

BigMixxx

Oh now….

iEverything sells, no question. This is the sole reason why Apple as a phone solution has to be part of T mobiles lineup. however, JUST LIKE ALL OTHER CARRIERS, T mobile continues to make money off of things, other than iPhone.

Having owned an iphone on tmobiles network, it is an incredible device that will have customers chomping at the bit for an officially support iDevices.

Bleeding: Stopping
Focus: Marketing best plans in the industry for a national carrier and good device choices.
Device selection: I’d like to see T mobile focus on increasing smartphone sales through better choice in smartphone, vs. providing smartphones for everyone. mytouch should be relabeled, G should really come back. Amaze, Sensation, G2x (yes, the G2x it’s a pretty good phone) were good phones. more HTC and Samsung devices, A motorola device other (yes bridges were burned with the cliq but a new focus should come). Partner with motorola for a high quality exclusive (offer the atrix with webtop). Overwhelm us as the consumer with focused smartphone choices at that 199 to 299 range and we will buy them. Blackberry at 299 is not worth it, especially when the competition wants way less.

IMHO, thats where focus should be third quarter.

Anonymous

That is a really good plan of action to stem customers from leaving. I agree on wanting better phone selection over a larger selection of entry level stuff. Give us the “wow” phones so that the Android OS they are pushing is really felt for the customers. It doesn’t have to be expensive $600 phones either. I think the Optimus T is a nifty little phone that offered a lot when it came out. I just don’t know if the exodus has really ended when the contractual customers are not increasing. The next quarters reports should be a good indication of this when they factor in the impact of no Iphone. That is where the constant revenue is as opposed to month to month customers who may decide they don’t need 4g data service for the time being.

Either way you got good points there. I would like to see them work on making the coverage they have solid and maybe slow down a massive expansion so that they can focus their network speeds on being capable of maintaining a constant through a market area. It would be nice to have a complete coverage area of 4g instead of 2 blocks away your down to 3g or no signal at all.

Example of this is Omaha, Ne. I’ve gotten faster speeds there than my home area of Austin, Tx. But there so many dead pockets with no service that I would jump to another carrier if I lived there. It’s like they pinned up a map of the city and played darts on it. I don’t want to be driving to the supermarket and get in a wreck with no cell service. Likewise in Austin I have a MT4G and average about 1.7 – 3mbs download. That is regular 3g speeds and not the prized 4g they advertise.

This company is not dead and could be turned around. They may need a new CEO and other top staff to return customer, business investment opportunities, and employee confidence in TMO. They are doing their job to sell the company for ATT but I’m not sure I’d trust them to run the company if the acquisition doesn’t get approved. There is probably a sweet payout for them at the end of this deal while the employee’s who are dealing with the customers and out in the field working will have to find another job. Get people who would truly see potential in the company and want to see it succeed.

21stNow

Since C-Spire is CDMA, they can use the same iPhone that exists for VZW and Sprint now. Apple would have to build a new iPhone for T-Mobile, as none of the current ones carry T-Mobile’s radio. If Apple does not want to do this, it’s hard for T-Mobile to make Apple build it.

Dpro

Actually Apple would not have to build a whole new phone all they need to do is acquire a penta band radio chip from Qualcomm which Qualcomm does make. Its really not that big of a deal. The rest of the guts are completely compatible. The bigger issue is the fact that DT who controls the purse strings of T Mobile U.S.A. does not want to make a purchase commitment for the Iphone. Mainly because they still are holding on to their pie in the sky dreams of selling to AT&T cough cough err I mean SBC, for an outrageous sum of money. LOL

What is interesting about this, C Spire and Sprint are both companies that are fighting the purchase tooth and nail. Now I am not a conspiracy theorist but it does look a little like AT&T went to Apple and said look we really need T Mobile for their towers and extra spectrum can you get C spire and Sprint to make a deal for the Iphone so the playing field looks a little more even. Reason for these thoughts is device availability is indeed one of the details that both Sprint and C spire outlined in their separate suits.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_AWWIKW6MNPUHOC4OVSHWUDWAHM Fabio

Completely agree with you…

I’m assuming that AT&T did meet with Apple and asked them for the favor of letting Sprint to make a deal with them. Then they figured that Sprint wasn’t enough so then they asked Apple to strike a deal with C Spire as well.

The idea is, that AT&T wants to make T-Mobile look as a weak competitor. Because now T-Mobile doesn’t have the iPhone and the other carriers do, they can argue in court that there IS competition.

But that’s not going to be examined by the judge. The issue is antitrust and duopoly. When the national wireless carriers are going down from 4 to 3 and the market concentration from Verizon and AT&T combined equals to about 80% of the market… That immediately raises concerns and is in fact a violation of antitrust laws.

Honestly, this deal seems completely dead to me unless they can create a new national wireless carrier, (NOT LIKELY) and that carrier should definitely be a GSM carrier just like AT&T, because we have too many CDMA carriers already!

Realcool2000

Omg, look here everyone, the reason tmo doesn’t have the iphone is because att is paying apple not to give it to them, verizon is doing the same, sprint gets it because apple gets profit obviously.

If the aquisition doesn’t go thru, then it will be more profitable for apple if tmo gets the phone then the money they get from apple not to give it to them, that’s why we saw ithe phone with tmo bands….they r waiting to see the outcome.

Its just leverage….

Anonymous

Third Quarter ends in Sept (I assume w/ t-mobile,) meaning the impact of the 4s sales isn’t included in this quarter. someone correct me if I’m wrong.

IT Guy

That’s correct

BP

The judge will have the most difficult job in February determining T-Mobile’s future. For every positive T-Mobile has there is also a negative.

NoToMaBell

It’s not up to the judge to determine T-Mobile future but rather the rule of law. T-Mobile positive or negatives should not be apart of the conversation as it stands. The deal shouldn’t go through now, whether it will remains to be seen.

BP

T-Mobile is the reason why they are going to court. If AT&T wins the judge feels that T-Mobile is not strong as a company on its own. If the DOJ wins the judge feels that T-Mobile is strong enough on its own.

Dpro

Actually no your assessment of the situation is flawed to your interpretation.
Yes T Mobile is the reason why they are going to court. Though only in the fact that the DOJ has stated outright that they see T Mobile as a viable 4th company in the wireless business. In seeing that they feel that to lose it would upset the marketplace and create a duopoly and anti competitive business climate.

It has nothing to do with if the Judge feels T Mobile is strong enough on their own or not at this point.
The Judge will be ruling strictly on the anti trust issue and if it creates a duopoly and an uncompetitive marketplace given that.

BP

What you don’t understand is T-Mobile is the subject in this case. Knowing T-Mobile situation as a judge lets you know which side is lying and will benefit more from this deal. Why do you think AT&T is doing everything it can to slander T-Mobile as a business?

Dpro

Your reading comprehension fails you. I stated that T Mobile in part is the subject of the case in my statement of yes T Mobile is the reason they are going to court. LOL
The main subject of the case is ANTI TRUST and DUOPOLY!

Its not a question of who benefits from the deal.
The DOJ has already stated the position that they feel it would create a duopoly. Regardless of how strong or weak T Mobile is at the moment.
AT&T’s job is to prove it will not create a Duopoly hence their statements of Cricket and Metro PCS being viable competitors of which they are not. They are regional players trying to enter the big time but are not in the same league as T Mobile Verizon ATT and Sprint.

Honestly their case is weak. As ample evidence proving that elimination of T Mobile through the purchase would indeed create what the DOJ is stating. T Mobiles current condition has nothing to do with that because they still while losing 50 prepaid customers still retain a 33 million user base that is not to be scoffed at.

If they were to lose several million customers then your argument of T Mobile not still being a viable player would hold merit. It does not though, nor would it hold merit with a judge. As like I said before the real argument is anti trust/anti competitive and creation of a duopoly

Dpro

excuse me I made a typo on the 50 prepaid I meant to say thousands of prepaid customers.

BP

Your entire paragraph was a typo. If you take T-Mobile out the situation there is no reason to go to court.

tmotech

No, YOU just don’t know how to read. When did Dpro say T-Mobile wasn’t involved? You made some thick-headed comment about the judge basing his ruling on how “strong” T-Mobile is. He was trying to correct you, and now you’re too dense to even comprehend what he’s saying. Please, for your sake, go back to school.

BP

What are you his lover? BWAHAHAHA!!!!!

Fred

They lost another 389,000 postpaid customers after losing 536,000 postpaid customers last quarter! Things are really bad at T. They try to cover it up by flooding the market with prepaid phones. But the prepaid phones don’t generate as much as a postpaid on contract. T-Mobile is falling fast! Even Sprint only lost 44,000 customers. T-Mobile is horrid and only going to get worse in the 4th quarter with the iPhone.

I guess you missed the part where they are still profitable and only slightly less profitable than they used to be

guidomus_maximus

More customers, more revenue, more profits. Keep in mind that the cash cow of TMO generates a profits of 13 million dollars a day 365 days a year.

Compare that to Sprint

Fred

Unfortunately, you must have flunked out of business school. 4.7 billion is how much revenue they take in overall. Profit would be calculated by subtracting all of their expenses from the 4.7 billion in revenue. Your statement that they generate $13 million in profits is completely false. They actually didn’t report what their earnings was. They only posted Revenue and OIBDA.

Hark

They announced $332 million in profit, up over last quarter

Plankton

Fools! Cant you see the writting on the wall. Its OVER. DT is building a franchise to sell to PCS. Mr T and his son E gets the rest.

For the last time, the iPhone already exists that runs on our net. They are not going to release it.

Wonder why some third party hasnt modified the phone. The chips are not PforP but it can be made to work.

But no…..BUY an brick!

Hark

How is it “over” if a company is posting a profit?

Mcgee

Posting a profit because they are cutting as much spending as they can. By stripping down customer service and outsourcing, and not investing in their network and trying to squeeze every dollar out of every customer they can. How long will those profits last? You can tell by the way they are presenting the subscriber count that they are just being creative with wording. I don’t want to be one of those people that say D.T is done with T-mobile, but I really do think that they just don’t understand how to run a business with U.S consumers and they are done trying..

Hark

There was no cut in operating expenditures.

Cotttoncandy

This is the same way they have always presented subscriber count. The general consensus on wall street is that this was a good quarter for T-Mobile and beat analysts predictions.

John Thomas

I wish T-Mobile would realize that NOTHING will compare to an iPhone, I know this is not an iPhone related article but ever since 2007 T-Mobile began to turn for the worst… What happened to 2007? The iPhone. 4 years and 4 more carriers added and a merger pending and T-Mobile says “Well any of our phones can beat the iPhone” obviously not! Numbers don’t lie! Sure prepaid is up but if your prepaid an iPhone isn’t even at the last of the list and the money is with contract customers. T-Mobile needs to the iPhone to turn things around… I strongly believe AT&T is behind the reason why T-Mobile has not gotten the iPhone… What AT&T needs to realize is that giving T-Mobile the iPhone would make their chances better of the merger instead of keeping it away….. That judge made a good point about Sprint and C Spire, they cant say anything because now they are carrying the iPhone. Those rumors about the AWS chipset is strange and an iPhone for T-Mobile would be difficult, bigger, and more expensive to make….. BULLSHIT!!!! The only people that knows for sure what frequencies the iPhone can hold is Apple… Its Apple choice to let what certain information gets out…. T-Mobile can get an iPhone but something is blocking it… And also, Imma hard care android user and I personally enjoy android over Apple.

Hark

Tmobile was adding a million customers in some quarters long after the iphone was released and verizon was growing leaps and bound even before they got the iphone.

Boy03892003

Yes… The customers that were added probably left already because of what? Wasn’t customer service….

Deeg

Bad customer service and the way many current customers feel and have been treated is another reason…The merger uncertainty also scares a lot of customers. Sure the iPhone is another reason…Pretty much 95% of the folks I know have iPhones…and most people that get an iPhone…dont switch to Android. I didnt renew my Tmo contract and honestly they made no attempts to get me too. Marketing sucks too. Im reading forums at Tmo.com and many prepaid customers are also upset- they’re getting outsourced customer service somewhere in the Pacific that barely speak English and don’t know what they’re talking about…and also there’s a bit of a bait and switch. Large billboards scream Monthly 4g Unlimited for $50..but many customers are wishing they had chosen another prepaid carrier; that $50 gives you only 100 mb of data which is nothing and then you not only don’t get 4G- you don’t get 3G – if you dig on Tmobiles website, you see you are left with ‘dial up speeds’ which are useless for many things people want to do on a smartphone…so the Monthly Unlimited 4G is not all its cracked up to be. Id rather be on Boost or Virgin (maybe even Metro) where you at least have unlimited data at 3G speeds. (if its good enough for an iPhone, it will be ok— but dial up speeds ? really? Thats probably worse than any other carrier out there and makes Tmobile look even worse. Im surprised by looking at the Tmobile Forums how much consistency there is in customer complaints and how much indifference there seems to be on the part of Tmobile management.

ItsMichaelNotMike

Interesting spin on a really bad situation. Guess some people just continue to stick their heads in the sand. I mean really, trumpeting that an additional 126,000 customers joined T-Mobile, by playing with the numbers and whooping about prepaid. That kind of talk does not fool investors, nor does it fool anyone with an ounce of sense.

The news that matters: T-Mobile lost 186,000 postpaid customers in the third quarter of 2011. Like others said, everyone in the industry knows that locking clueless customers into overpaying on lucrative 24-month post-paid contracts is everything to the big boy wireless carriers.

Sidenote: It is knee-slapping funny that people in here dissed prepaid and rudely insulted anyone talking positive about prepaid, or even discussing it. Now it is “We are really going places, we added prepaid customers.

By the way, T-Mobile better be ready to compete for even prepaid customers in the 4th quarter. MetroPCS is running a promotion through December 31: Four (04) unlimited talk, text, web lines for $100, taxes and fees INCLUDED.

Should be an interesting 4th quarter. Maybe TMOUS will come out with lower-priced prepaid plans in response. (After all, a prepaid customer is looking for the best deal he can find. 4 unlimited everything lines for $100, that’s hard to beat. And Metro is selling the $559 Verizon LG Revolution (called the LG Esteem) for $250, after rebate. Seems to me T-Mobile has to now start worrying even about getting or keeping prepaid subscribers.

Hark

Their stock had held stay so investors are fine, apparently. Funny you mention metropcs when their stock was very hot last year despite not having any contacts at all. You are not very good at analyzing telcoms judging by this and other posts of yours.

ItsMichaelNotMike

LOL…OK, whatever. You have anything to back up what you say. And who do you mean by “their stock?” Shares of Deutsche Telekom declined a point to $11.83 in early trading yesterday.

“Investors are fine?” Do you even know who owns DT?

Post DOJ lawsuit DT owners are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The investors are not happy.

– TMOUS is losing post-paid customers every quarter;

– DT is contractually bound having to support AT&T in the litigation (and most likely the Agreement includes DT having to stand with AT&T while the case is being appealed. End result, this time next year DT might still be stuck in this “pending deal”). This delay benefits AT&T and weakens TMOUS.

– There’s an 80% chance the deal will NOT be approved;

– When the Court blocks the deal and AT&T appeals, I suspect DT still cannot look for other suitors.The net affect, let’s compare the TMOUS of March 2011 when the deal was announced to the Company in December 2012 if the deal is still pending.

– By the time AT&T and DT go their separate ways IMO TMOUS will have lost a few million post-paid subscribers and will not have improved its handset lineup to distinguish it from other carriers. This will leave TMOUS a very weak carrier, with a disheartened parent unwilling to invest money into it, and in its weakened condition TMOUS a very unattractive acquisition to those previously interested in acquiring it.

But hey, you ride that DT train long and hard (or are you a fan of TMOUS, which some people in here think is a publicly traded company :)

jon

Michael, I value most of what you post here. But, this is inaccurate. Tmob can and will exorcise its right to walk from this deal if it is not closed by Sept. So, by this time next year, Tmob will be a least three billion dollars richer with spectrum and a roaming deal. And may add another three billion in cold hard cash…that is if DT doesn’t steal that cash…a long, drawn out legal fight just isn’t going to happen.

http://tmonews.com David

I might misunderstand your final sentence, but DT DOES get the money, that debate has long since been ended. DT will get the cash.

jon

David, what I meant by ‘stealing’ is DT not reinvesting that cash into tmob or using that cash as part of a deal with another buyer. If DT keeps tmob once this deal is dead, I fully expect them to use that cash on tmob. If they look for another buyer, then certainly they will use that cash to sweeten and close a deal quickly.

Occupytruth

^ This man is correct. Most of the Prepaid customers gained had post paid anyway. Soon when enough customers are out of their contract they will switch to prepaid and gains will be less and less. As a T-Mobile employee I can honestly say its easy to see T-Mobile is buying time via their customer service (more outsourcing and not caring), Strategys (Ever think of what will happen to a customer with a value plan after there contract is over? This is why they wanted to get rid of Even More Plus too much freedom) and also Not buying the iphone (why buy it when your selling the company). etc etc. T-Mobile is bragging about prepaid but the people who are getting prepaid are their own customers!

The Insider

Bloomberg called their quarter impressive and beat analysts predictions by 17%

For so long now (7 years) I have spoke so highly of tmobile and stood by them all the way. I have had GREAT service and customer care has been top notch. BUT NO LONGER! the past few months my service has gone to crap, I can go multiple hours without data and when i call customer service I get a rude, know nothing idiot. Dropped call after dropped call and then more dropped calls later im yelling at my phone in my apartment where I have been for years and never had any issues with tmobile. If tmobile ever had its glory days they must be coming to a end of some soon. Im sure they have fired all the people who actually knew something only to hire someone monkeys that work for less pay. I can only picture a ‘technician’ banging on a cell tower with a wrench yelling “which way did he go, which way did he go” and some ghetto careless person cramming pencils up hisher nose, trying to figure out how to use a mouse. I live in a very tech savvy and modern city called Austin Texas and I basically am stuck with an expensive paper weight. They have a very finite amount of time before they lose one more.

ItsMichaelNotMike

I think your post exemplifies why TMOUS is losing subscribers, as much as the fans in here want to attribute the losses to other things.

http://www.facebook.com/titadab05 Ali Othman

If it causes you so much misery, why do you subject yourself to it?

Just be on your way, Mike.

Lindy

Um…some of us are under contracts.

Realcool2000

Total lie….my data hasn’t wavered at all, and I can always get thru to customer service, and they are ALWAYS polite.

Don’t spread you lies here ABtexas83!

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_AWWIKW6MNPUHOC4OVSHWUDWAHM Fabio

This is very good news. Some of the comments here and T-Mobile themselves, have stated that T-Mobile will lose because they don’t have the iPhone.

Honestly, the iPhone is a great device but it isn’t the ONLY device that can lure customers. There are minor things the iPhone doesn’t have that people would like. Screen size is one example as well as more customization, etc etc. All of these are available on other phones and many old iPhone users might have gotten tired of the smaller screen size and restrictions that the iPhone brings.

Also the plans for iPhone are expensive and with this economy in the U.S people want value. T-Mobile has value so therefore I guess that’s why many people are going prepaid, so that’s also something to point out.

As I said the iPhone is great but it isn’t EVERYTHING for a wireless carrier.

Dublydo

Plans for iPhones are expensive? what are you talking about? It cost the same as any other phone.

Realcool2000

Iphone plans are WAY more expensive….

Dublydo

Please explain, I have an iPhone with att and for an android phone the web would have been the same.

Realcool2000

Well…..I will explain….you’re on att which is WAY more expensive than tmobile…..( u with me so far? ), and verizon is WAY MORE expensive than tmobile as well, therefore the iphone plans are more expensive because they r offered by networks that are more expensive than the one network that doesn’t carry the iphone.

Understand?

Dublydo

Hmm. I would say I’m paying for better coverage and service which is on a different level then when I was with T-mobile, and if i wanted to use an android phone that price would still be the same if I wanted to use and iPhone. But using your logic what about Sprint? They offer “TRULY” unlimited internet for the same price as T-mobiles 5 gig?

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_AWWIKW6MNPUHOC4OVSHWUDWAHM Fabio

Hi, when I stated that iPhone plans are expensive I was referring to the other carrier’s plans. Yes, according to you, you get better coverage. But coverage and such things are irrelevant in this argument because you might have great coverage with AT&T and then other people might have great coverage with T-Mobile, or maybe you have great coverage with both if you live in a major city like NYC. Either way T-Mobile still has the lowest smartphone rate plans out of the other 3 major carriers, without comparing if data is truly unlimited or not or if you get good coverage… T-Mobile still does have the lowest rates, that’s just a fact.

Realcool2000

Amen :)

Guest

These financial results are last quarter. These are Pre- iPhone results.

Anonymous

This is a good news after all the bad news that were happening.
1. Now ATT can’t suggest that it is saving T-mobile from disaster by purchasing it.
2. And we can suggest more firmly that ATT is trying to eliminate a competitor. (apart from trying to be a monopoly)
3. Pleople are starting to like the idea of ‘no contracts’ and ‘unlocked/unbranded phones’.
4. Now all I want is a $40 monthly plan. (Who’s with me?)
(or 5. The Value plans should be available with a 1 year contract if you are not getting a phone)

Giraffe

T-Mobile’s been slashing the costs of their postpaid rate plans, and they only reason why they have growth is their prepaid service? I’m not sure T-Mobile is saved from disaster, especially when the biggest sign of a healthy telcom is having a high percentage of customers on contract…

http://twitter.com/LTEstyles LTEstyles

Pleople

The one you love to hate

All these people talking bad about TMO, let me as you a question. Why are you on here? If TMO would get the Iphone would you shut up?

http://twitter.com/OtakuJedi Topher

T-Mobile won’t get the iphone for now. Since i’m no longer working for magenta i can comment. We had a town hall meeting with corporate and were told that apple stated t-mobile is not “Relevant” anymore and thats why it didnt happen this year.

Littlesis1774

Well it T-mobile fault. They know they need the iphone but instead of giving in they make fun of iphone with those stupid commercials that is the same as PC and MAC ones

J. Williams

Good job.

Purenupe1

if they do away with the large deposits on the blackberry 9900, for customers with tenure of 2years or more then I would gladly sign a new agreement and upgrade.

Richardthegrape

Wish I had money to pay my bill and continue being a customer haha. <<<< Broke as(s) mofo right here…

I love T-Mobile!

T-Mobile4Life

THE REAL 411!!!!

I work for t-mobile sales division, have for 8 years in all areas of the country. And for the past 7 years we have always had the best plans, but sub-par network and sub-par handsets. This is the first year that we can actually prove network superiority to customers, with something as simple as downloading the speedtest app onto thier phone, and can honestly say we have the best handset lineup in the US, all while continuing to offer the best value in rate plans. Every day I get 4-5 customers that switch from the Iphone, to a new android…when they see..

1) our android can download at 14.5mbps sitting right next to thier iphone downloading at 3.5mbps in the same spot at the same time.

2) i show them “g-tunes” as opposed to thier “i-tunes” where they can download any song direct to thier device for FREE with no strings attached (try multiplying $1.29/song X 350 song library using i-tunes)

3) i show them free GPS on the android, that they have to pay $10/month for on thier iphone

4) i show them a dozen apps that are FREE on the android market that all cost money on the apple market

5) I show them the wi-fi calling feature that they can take thier android to any country in the world and call and text home for free when connected to wi-fi which saves hundreds to thousands of dollars in roaming charges they pay on thier i-phone

6) and then to top it all off, i show them that they can get unlimited talk, text and web for $59.99/month as opposed to $115/month for an iphone…people are dropping thier i-phones like flies.

Dont get me wrong, the iphone is a great phone and apple is a great company, and they pioneered alot of great things in the smartphone industry, but the only reason they are so big is because of how good they are at marketing america to thinking the iphone is the best. Its like the kids in high school that wear abercrombie and fitch, its just a name, and finally one by one consumers are starting to realize that.

remember 4 years ago, did you ever hear the term “smartphone”? no, you heard theterm “blackberry”. you either had a blackberry, or you didnt, and nobody would have ever imagined something overtaking a blackberry…well people caught onto something else….the iphone…and blackberry has fallen right to the bottom of the barrell. and two years from now, everyone will be saying the words “android” and “google” and the words “apple” and “iphone” will be just as old news as “blackberry”, “razr”, “tickle me elmo” and every other fad that has come and gone. the customization, and affordableness of android will be too powerful once everyone realizes that an abercrombie and fitch sweatshirt doesnt keep you any warmer than a walmart sweatshirt when the lights and heat go out.

Sales Manager-Boston Market

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_AWWIKW6MNPUHOC4OVSHWUDWAHM Fabio

Very interesting! I think all the reasons you pointed out why the android is better and the wifi calling, should be pointed out in T-Mobile commercials! That would definitely catch people’s attention.

ItsMichaelNotMike

You obviously take pride in your work and love what you are doing. You need to pass on some of that dedication, loyalty and enthusiasm to your employees and the as#hat people in here who ID themselves as T-Mobile employees and post that they consider the customer the enemy. (And they also don’t know T-Mobile products which adds to the problem.)

These clowns, just like your bosses, don’t know how to get and keep customers.

May I suggest you go on Amazon or eBay and buy this book on how to be a rainmaker in sales:

“How To Become A Rainmaker – The Rules for Getting and Keeping Customers and Clients” by Jeffrey J. Fox.

It is a quick read and says such things as:

The Rainmaker’s Credo

- Cherish customers at all times.

- Treat customers as you would your best friend.

- Listen to customers and decipher their needs.

- Give customers what they need.

- Price your product to its dollarized value.

- Show customers the dollarized value of what they will get.

- Teach customers to want what they need.

- Make your product the way customers want it.

- Get your product to your customers when they want it.

- Give your customers a little extra, more than they expect.

- Remind customers of the dollarized value they received.

- Thank each customer sincerely and often.

- Help customers pay you, so they won’t be embarrassed and go elsewhere.

- Ask to do it again.

- Keep in mind when selling your product or service that customers buy for only two reasons: to feel good or solve a problem.
____________________

As you can see, you do a lot of these things, but most at T-Mobile DO NOT.

Bigshenf

what is g-tunes? i would like to learn more about that

Marcels81

Amen brother i work customer care and I am jealous of the extra time you get to spend with customer and ability to “show” them all of this. I can tell then about it in quick mode however. Can you name me couple apps that you know are charged on apple and free on android? Keep up the great work!

Lennym45

yeah that all great to show them they can get all of that unlimted stuff but did you tell them that after they used up all there 4g data it throttled down or did you tell them that they gotta upgrade there speed for additonal cost or did you tell them that depend on the phone they purchase that it takes up all of ur speed and it depend on what you download

http://twitter.com/ivancunningham Ivan Cunningham

I wish I could agree I live about 45 mins from downtown Pittsburgh closer to the Ohio line and my service is bad. Tmobile talks 4G, Well I would like to have 3G, I am on EDGE and its bad internet service. The price is great for monthly compared to competitors but network could be alot better.

Anonymous

re: the real 411

thanks for the laugh. If I came into your store
and you hit me with your crap I would laugh at you and walk out. Have
you sold used cars before?

I doubt you can get 4-5 customers a day to switch from
an iphone unless you have tremendous floor traffic. I do not see that
many iphone users going into a t-mo store in the first place and I have
friends who work in a t-mo company store in one of the largest malls in
the area and they are not seeing 4-5 iphone users every day even looking
for a new plan/phone.

Where in T-mo quarterly numbers are all these
people ditching their iphones showing up when t-mo is loosing post paid customers? I am
assuming these android phones are going out on a new 2 year contract
right?

1) cannot argue with download speeds but not a deal killer
for me since I use mostly email and do a little internet surfing. I prefer a laptop for most of my internet use as most mobile browsers are lacking in features as compared to those on a laptop.

Overall I do get faster speeds in more places then I did with
t-mo. What is more important, faster downloads in SOME places or a phone
that has coverage everywhere I go? It is great that t-mo has fast
downloads but your great android phone is still a brick if it does not
have service.

2) never heard of g tunes and free unlimited
downloads. I do not think those downloads are current songs in the top
100 or 200. Could be wrong but probably just your fathers type of music for free.

3) I have free GPS on my phone thank you besides I have never ever seen a GPS program on a phone match that of my tomtom. What happens to your GPS on your phone when you loose service? I think the answer is it stops working. Great lost and no GPS. Been there and done that too many times so I bought a $69 gps unit and am happy and my tomtom does not kill my phone battery. just saying…..

4) I know for a fact that there are free apps in itunes that cost in the android market

5)
from my experience international use/calling is important with less
then 5% of the people. Besides MOST not all international users are
using Verizon or AT&T. Several prepaid carriers are offering cheap unlimited calling to mexico and central america these days as well.

6) I pay $45 a month for unlimited
talk and text and 2 gb data with a prepaid carrier with my 3gs and I do not have to pay all those additional taxes on prepaid as I did postpaid.

Amazing you are a sales manager and you probably teach your
people this crap. You must sell smart phones to dumb people because
anyone who knows smartphones would laugh in your face after you go
through your 6 points here. If you worked for me and I heard you tell
this to a customer you my friend would be unemployed.

Indirect Store Owner

Chonglee1977@hotmail.com

Lol mr indirect store owner.

1. As a owner you should never have a favorite phone.

2. Lol if your still in business only selling iphone. I highly dought you stay in business too long. Drinking the iphone cool-aid… why?… lol iphone comission from carrier is crap.

4. Last i checked iphone is a 3g phone… have you seen the 4g market latly?

Lol idiot your business model fail…. only way you make any money on iphone is through volume….. good luck staying in business if all you do is train your people to
sell low margin phone… your charge backs will kill you.

Verizon indirect owner.

Anonymous

After 8+ years with T-mo their customer care pi***d me off that I paid the ETF and vowed never to return. One hand does not know what the other is doing and it is a total CF at T-mo now.

The way I see it, T-mo is gone whether or not AT&T buys them. Just a matter of time.

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